I think that Aoki does an excellent job creating multiple characters inside and outside of the Westside community with Queen’s Garden. Her different vocal inflections and intonations are unique to each character, and I think that they work better than actively trying to alter her voice to the extreme. You can always recognize Aoki’s voice, and I think that reflects the idea that Brenda is the narrator and is telling her own experiences. The others are characters, not perspectives that are important to the reader’s or listener’s interpretation. Aoki’s voice has just as much emotion as would multiple voices, and it seems more personal coming from the person who actually experienced these events – or at least a version of them.
Music also plays a major role in the success of Aoki’s own interpretation. The use of jazz is a neutral music – played in between scene changes or during travel. Traditional Hawaiian instruments are used when Brenda is in the Westside as a teenager and when she is around Kali. Music reflects the ethnic and historic background of the people of the Westside. After Brenda returns as an adult, some of the same melodies are used when Brenda meets Kali again, but jazz takes over most of the music.
In the performances of Aoki in other works, I think that her body language and facial expressions pair well with the different characters she tries to perform. Many times she also has one prop – a traditional fan – that serves as an ever-changing representation of whatever physical object she is interacting with. I think that the success and entertaining quality of Aoki speaks to the importance and influence one individual story-teller can have. Aoki’s pieces are all about performance, even more so than Tomson Highway because the basic interpretation of the story (even without symbolism) weighs on one person.
Music also plays a major role in the success of Aoki’s own interpretation. The use of jazz is a neutral music – played in between scene changes or during travel. Traditional Hawaiian instruments are used when Brenda is in the Westside as a teenager and when she is around Kali. Music reflects the ethnic and historic background of the people of the Westside. After Brenda returns as an adult, some of the same melodies are used when Brenda meets Kali again, but jazz takes over most of the music.
In the performances of Aoki in other works, I think that her body language and facial expressions pair well with the different characters she tries to perform. Many times she also has one prop – a traditional fan – that serves as an ever-changing representation of whatever physical object she is interacting with. I think that the success and entertaining quality of Aoki speaks to the importance and influence one individual story-teller can have. Aoki’s pieces are all about performance, even more so than Tomson Highway because the basic interpretation of the story (even without symbolism) weighs on one person.